Wait…What?
by readingsloth
Summary: It's just another normal and peaceful morning in the palace, until Cinder and Kai get some pretty big news.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! This will be a two part story and hopefully I will be able to get the second half out by next Sunday, but school starts agin this week (Grrrr) so I will probably be kind of low on time. Thanks to all who read, reviewed, and favourited Gone, if you haven't read it, go check it out! Enjoy! **

Kai was waking up, his thoughts slowly coalescing from the random strange ways of dreams to bright clear memories. Engine grease. Cargo pants. And a special pair of deep brown eyes. He tightened his grip on the woman lying next to him and pulled her close. Bringing her back from the places she had visited in sleep. Bringing her from her nightmares of the battle with the old Queen Levana. Bringing her home.

He opened his eyes just in time to see her smile at him, love clear in her gaze, before she leaned further in and pressed her lips to his.

"Good morning." He mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Cinder looked like she was about to respong before her face filled with something like panic and she scrambled out of bed, making a mad dash to the bathroom.

Suddenly the sound of retching replaced the peaceful silence as Kain tried to figure out what was going on, his mind still sluggish from sleep.

"Cinder, you okay?" He questioned her as he hurriedly threw back the covers , rushing to join her in the bathroom. The look she gave him made it obvious that he was asking stupid questions and should probably be doing something else. She glared at him for a moment before her face turned a delicate shade of green and she turned back to the toilet, continuing to empty the contents of her stomach.

Kai's sleepy brain kicked into overdrive and he kneeled next to her as he kneeled next to her and held back her hair for the next round of dry heaving.

After a time period that was only around fifteen minutes, but felt like hours to both of them, Cinder slumped against Kai, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat and her body trembling. He pressed gentle kisses to the top of her head and held her closer.

"What happened?" He wasn't sure he wanted to really know the answer, fearing the worst, but he couldn't stop himself from asking anyway. Cinder's response was even more troubling than he expected. She just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you want anything to eat, or maybe drink?" Kai was growing more nervous by the second. In the two years they had been married he had never seen Cinder so sick.

"Maybe some tea?" Cinder's voice was timid and weak, portraying little about her true emotions. Kai acknowledged her request before pulling her into a standing position and leading her back to their bed. He tried to get her to lie down but she was adamant about staying upright. Lying down, she explained to a slightly miffed Kai, only made her nauseous, and soon he stopped pushing the matter.

The only time Kai left her side was to call Iko and ask her to bring up some tea. He usually would have used one of the numerous servants, but knew that Cinder would be much more comfortable with a friend. Their conversation was cut short, however, because even standing outside the master bedroom he could hear Cinder's quick return to the bathroom, and her vomiting into the toilet once more. By the time Kai made it back to her, though, Cinder had grabbed her toothbrush and was washing the sick out of her mouth, replacing the sharp acrid smell of barf with the minty fresh taste of her toothpaste.

Upon noticing Kai's panicked reflection in the mirror Cinder came to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his shoulder and pressing her cool metal hand to the small of his back. Her other hand reached up to curl around his neck and pull his face down so that she could press a delicate minty kiss to his cheek.

"I'm okay, Kai. I probably just ate some spoiled food." She reassured him. He nodded against her hair, although he was still nervous. His mind was filled with the images of his parents. Normal then sick, sick then dying, dying then dead. The stages of any epidemic. Vomiting was not a symptom of letumosis, he reminded himself, although his brain had no problem coming up with a list of diseases that it _was_ a symptom of.

"Either way, I'm taking you to the doctor." He knew that it was probably irrational, but everything inside of him was screaming at him to be cautious, and he wasn't about to disagree.

"No way Kai. You have that big meeting today, I have a call with Winter. We both have better things to be doing than spending our day sitting in a doctors office waiting to have them tell us that I drank spoiled milk." He started to protest, but she quickly interrupted him.

"You're the emperor of an entire country, you have more important things to do than take your sick wife to the doctor."

He rolled his eyes.

"You're the empress of an entire country. Nothing is more important than you.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes.

Suddenly a knock on the bedroom door made the both jump. On her way to greet whoever was calling on them Cinder pulled a very old, frayed, gray hoodie on top of her pajamas. It made Kai smile. The person at the door turned out to be Iko, who had come back carrying the tea Cinder had requested. Kai left them to their conversation and went to go get changed. From his closet he could hear Cinder;s reassuring tone, no doubt trying to calm down Iko.

A minute later Kai heard the door shut and went to go join Cinder on the bed where she was curled into a ball, slowly sipping her tea. Before she could school her features he caught her expression of unease and nervousness, when she saw him, however, she brought her face back into a facade of calm, although she couldn't completely hide the panic festering in her synthetic eyes.

"I'm glad to see that you're dressed. You have to be leaving... as do I, actually." She added as she checked her portscreen. He glared at her for a second, realizing that she was going to be stubborn about getting checked out by a doctor. He also, begrudgingly, realized that she was right.

"Fine. I'll just take you to tonight." A smile crossed his face at his simple and foolproof solution. There was no way she could protest that.

"Really, I'm fine Kai. I don't need to go to the doctor." There was no way he was going to give in that easily.

"What's the harm in checking? If it's nothing then we know for sure that we don't need to worry, if it's _is_ something then you can receive medical attention." She acknowledged the the truth in his words with a small shake of her head and an eye roll, before setting her mug on the bedside table and heading to the closet to change.

**Reviews let me know that you liked the story and motivate me to write faster. I love this fandom and would LOVE any possible requests you might have! Thanks for reading!**

**readingsloth**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello lovely readers! Thank you all SO much for all the reviews, favourites, and follows, I appreciate the support more than you can possibly know! Most of you guessed what it was that Cinder was "afflicted" with, but I hope you will still enjoy reading the characters, hopefully accurate, reactions when they finally figure it out. Thanks and enjoy!**

The day was shaping up to be one of the worst days Kai had had in a _long _time. The stuff he had to do was boring and mindless, even his big meeting with the other Earthen rulers about oil supplies didn't do squat to distract him from the sheer panic the thought of Cinder being sick brought with it. He knew it was irrational, and that he was being overprotective and slightly pessimistic, but he didn't know what he would do without Cinder.

Nothing could draw his mind away from his morbid thoughts. As the meeting drew to a close, the powerful and intimidating leaders closing their computers and turning off their screens, he heard the president of the United States, a newly appointed young woman, mutter something about how lucky she was that her kids wouldn't take on her role like Kai's, and his brain spun off into even worse possibilities. What if he never got to hear the sounds of his childrens laughter ringing through the palace hall? What if something happened to Cinder and she wasn't able to give birth? He couldn't bring himself to even think the word "died".

Kai spent most of the rest of his day in his office where the pictures of his father, mother, and of Cinder worked to make him a little less lonely. Their smiling faces bringing a little piece to his troubled thoughts. He searched for Cinder, too, but he was told that she was out in the city somewhere, or in a meeting with Winter and shouldn't be interrupted.

This was how Thorne found him, wandering the hallways, looking for something to occupy and distract him. Him and Cress were currently staying with him and Cinder before heading to France to spend some time with Scarlet, Wolf, and their new little girl. Kai didn't really mind, he had gotten over any dislike for the "reformed" criminal years ago, and they had grown into a slightly awkward resemblance of friendship. Cinder called it great progress, but Kai denied it and changed the topic.

"Hey Thorne. You haven't seen Cinder have you?" His voice was downcast and dismayed.

"Yeah, last time I checked she was heading down for dinner like the rest of us." Kai felt his voice twist into an expression of confusion, and hastily checked his watch. 5:30. Thorne was right, it w_as_ dinner time.

"Lost track of time, your royal Highness?" Thorne was chuckling at Kai's baffled expression. It was true. Kai had been so caught up in worrying that he hadn't noticed as the hours dragged by.

He started to move in the direction of the dining room, he wasn't really hungry, but he figured that was where everyone would be, and so that was the place he would most likely find the reason for his nervous state.

* * *

><p>Dinner was not a quiet affair, it never was, but tonight instead it seemed especially rowdy. Cinder seemed to have returned almost to full health, but Kai could tell that, although she argued with Thorne and chatted with him and Cress, she was still feeling miserable. It was obvious in the slight twinge of pain in her eyes, or the way she slowly picked at her food. This was all the evidence Kai needed. He quickly excused himself and stood, pulling Cinder up to stand beside him. In an attempt to explain his actions in a way that wouldn't betray what was really going on, Kai made up some story about him and Cinder needing to go to some important meeting. He wasn't even completely sure what he said, but it must not have been very good because he heard Thorne mutter something that turned Cress's cheeks red and caused Iko to snort in an attempt to keep in her laughter.<p>

Soon the couple were alone in the hallway.

"What the heck, Kai?" Were the first words out of Cinder's mouth as she turned to gape at him. He chose not to answer, instead grabbing her by the arm and pulling her along with him until they were standing outside the door to the elevator. It was only after she saw Kai press the button for the second floor that Cinder had any idea what was going on.

"No way. You are not taking me to the doctor. I'm fine Kai. I promise." He knew she had a fear of the medical field in general, after the war, but this was getting ridiculous.

"You are sick. You need to be checked out. Give me one good reason to not take you." He was just trying to seem less demanding. Their wasn't a single thing she could say that would make him change his mind.

"I feel fine. What other reason do you need?" All Kai did was roll his eyes.

They arrived at the door to the medical wing, now used mostly for various doctors offices or labs for whatever world problem the scientists were trying to solve today. After the Lunars had handed over the cure for Letumosis the section had almost been shut down, but Kai had requested that it remain open and that one of the doctors stay on to attend to anyone in the palace that might be in need of medical attention. It was a decision he had never really appreciated until today.

When the receptionist android scanned Kai's and Cinder's recently installed ID chips, and computed that it was the Emperor who requested entry, she opened the doors immediately and pointed them towards an empty office.

The room was cold and white, devoid of any real color except for the bed lying in the middle, which was a pale blue. The MedBot came in to ask Cinder a few questions and take her heart rate and temperature, before it requested that Kai leave the room so that the doctor could perform the physical examination.

"But I'm her husband!" He exclaimed in protest as he was literally pushed out the door.

"Don't make a fuss Kai, it won't be anything, you'll see." He was reluctant to take her word, but soon found that he had no real choice, and resigned himself to sit in the waiting room.

He tried to focus on the magazine he had picked up, but it was in vain. His eyes wouldn't stop seeking out the door in an effort to find out what was going on. Luckily for his nerves it didn't take long for the doctor to step out of the room and call his name, gesturing for him to come closer.

He walked in to see everything as he had left it, except now Cinder was sitting on the bed, and he took up a chair next to her.

"I am pleased to say that you are quite healthy, your Majesty." Cinder turned to look at Kai with a smirk, but he wasn't done.

"Completely healthy? Then why was she so sick this morning?"

"I believe her symptoms can be explained by the fact that her Majesty is pregnant."

"Wait...What?!" Kai heard Cinder exclaim even as his own mouth fell open in shock. His emotions were spinning out of control, a mix of pure joy, terror, and love that he had never experienced before. Him, a father. Kai was going to be a father.

He couldn't say anything that would adequately describe his feelings in that moment, so he turned instead and wrapped his arms around his wife, kissing her deeply. They pulled apart only when they heard the doctor clear her throat, and they both sat there staring at each other as she went into more detail. A look of wonder clear in both of their eyes.

**Alright, well not quite what I originally set out to write, but I think I'm happy with it. I do have a few questions for you though, first being if I should continue the story. I have a few scenes I'm considering, but I'm not sure. If so, what gender should the baby be? What should it's name be? What scenes might you like to see? Let me know in a review! Thanks for reading!**

**readingsloth**

**Oh, also, I'm considering looking for a Beta Reader, if you might be interested let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello lovely readers! Here is just something short and sweet because I am completely out of inspiration to write a longer chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you SO much to my beta reader Beckah for her amazing work on this chapter, go check out her awesome stories over at archiveofourown . org!**

Of course they all were ecstatic to hear Cinder and Kai's news, not that either of them had expected different, but it was nice to hear their reassurances all the same. Thorne cracked jokes and hugged them both, a gesture that made Kai more than slightly uncomfortable; Scarlet gave Cinder a knowing look and asked about her morning sickness as she hoisted her own daughter a little higher on her lap; Cress, Iko, and Winter had all squealed in joy, running around with excitement.

Overall it had been a long day. Good, but long.

Even though she had been looking forward to telling everyone since the day they had found out, almost three months ago, Cinder was exhausted. The pregnancy had drained her of all of her normal energy and made it so that even the most mundane tasks became monumentally difficult and taxing. The doctors had told her it was nothing to worry about, just a normal part of the ordeal, but both her and Kai were becoming more and more worried. Scarlet hadn't been this bad when she had been pregnant with Amelia, at least not that the royal couple could recall, and since that was Cinder's only real life experience with the entire ordeal she found it hard to remember to stop comparing the two situations, like Kai kept reminding her.

She was starting to show too, not so much that her clothes weren't fitting, which was a huge relief, but enough that if she wore something tight the small bump became more obvious. She supposed it was lucky she didn't own many tight things.

She considered this as she pulled on her pajama pants that night and wondered when she would have to buy a new maternity pair. That was not a trip she was looking forward to.

Right now the only people that knew about the baby were her, Kai, their doctors, and now their friends. The news had yet to be released to the public, but she knew that as the pregnancy progressed it would grow impossible for her to hide it.

When she had first married Kai, Cinder had refused to be kept locked up inside just because she was royalty, and instead had made use of her glamour to keep the photographers and journalists from surrounding her wherever she went. She supposed she could do something similar now, but she wasn't sure she would have the energy to maintain it for a long period of time, besides, the world would have to find out eventually. Even if they managed to keep the pregnancy secret, it would be really hard to hide an entire baby.

It was these thoughts that led her to go seek out her husband in his office at ten o'clock at night, pajamas and all.

"What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" He immediately set down the large stack of papers he had been combing through and looked up at her with a concerned expression.

"We need to talk." These were words that never failed to strike fear in Kai's heart, and so he instantly gestured for her to sit down in the chair opposite his desk, nervousness as to what she might tell him twisting his stomach.

"I think we should tell everybody." She didn't hesitate to get to the point, not wanting to keep Kai waiting.

"Isn't that what we just did?" He exhaled in slight relief, slumping back into his chair.

"No, I mean tell the world. Let everybody know that there's going to be a new heir to the throne."

"Are you serious?" She gave a brusque nod.

"Are you sure you're ready for that? Are you sure _we're_ ready for something like that?"

She spent a moment thinking about that, really thinking about it. It would mean that they would be flocked to and annoyed even more than usual, and that they would be setting up their kid for a lifetime of avoiding the paparazzi and press, but did they really have a choice? This was the problem with being royalty, no matter what they did they would never be able to completely shield their child from his or her position in the world, the best thing they could do would be to tell the public early on in the hopes that by the time the baby came they would have moved on to other subjects of gossip.

"I think so, I mean we can't hide it forever, no matter what happens they're going to find out eventually. How do you want to break the news to them?"

He looked at her warily, evaluating the truth in her statement. He hated the fact that his son or daughter would be submitted to the same treatment he had been given as a child, but that was the nature of who they were. She was right, they couldn't hide it forever.

"Alright, I can let the world leaders know during our next meeting, from there it won't be long until it filters down and everyone knows."

They were quiet for a few minutes, contemplating what the next few weeks would bring when suddenly Kai spoke up, his voice worried and shy despite being hidden under the mask of wry humor.

"I bet it's times like these that you regret marrying me." Cinder gave him a small smile before coming around the table and getting pulled to sit in his lap.

"Never.", She whispered honestly into his ear, kissing him gently on the cheek.

He paused for a minute before his face broke into a grin and he stared her right in the eyes.

"Just to be clear, you're not using your mind powers on me right now, are you?" She grins back and repeats the familiar words without hesitation.

"Of course not."

"Just checking." Then he leans forward and catches her lips in a sweet kiss, one hand cradling her face, the other molding itself to the slight swell in her belly.

He's the first to pull away, but only to hold her a little closer and whisper into her hair "I love you"

Suddenly she's sure. They might not be completely prepared for what's about to hit them, but as long as she has him to lean back on, they'll be just fine.

**I hope you all enjoyed that little bit of fluff. Thank you to all those who reviewed, favourited, and followed, it means the world to me. Keep sending in votes for names, genders, and ideas. I love to hear them! Thanks! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello all! Thank you to everybody who read, favourited, followed, and reviewed. I loved the feedback! A big thanks to my beta reader, Beckah for her wonderful feedback! Enjoy!**

"Cinder? Cinder!" Kai had been searching for over an hour now, but to no avail, his wife was nowhere to be found. He passed a few escort droids in the hallway, but one caught his attention. It was Iko. Her neon blue hair made her visible for miles and Kai had no problem spotting her.

"Iko, have you seen Cinder?" It was times like this that he cursed the fact that the palace was so big.

"Last time I saw her she was heading in the direction of the garage." That could only mean one thing. Kai had done his best to discourage Cinder to continue working as a mechanic, especially now that she was pregnant, but as she had explained to him multiple times, fixing things was what she did. It was one of her favorite things in the world.

Despite his complaints and concerns for her safety, she still came into dinner sometimes with grease on her nose, soot on her hands, and a grin on her face that could only mean one thing. He had yet to stumble across her actually in the act of fixing one of the multiple broken hovers, but he knew it was only a matter of time. She seemed to enjoy destroying them almost as much as she did fixing them.

"Cinder!" He called once again, a little more hopeful now that he was approaching her favorite place in the palace. Kai usually would have just left her alone and trusted her enough to come find him when she wanted too, but tonight was the night of the ball, the same ball where Kai had first discovered Cinder's big secret, almost seven years ago. He was already dressed up in his nicest clothes, but he knew that if he found Cinder where he thought he would they would definitely be late on account of her needing to panic, shower, then change. In that order.

The garage, although it _was _a garage, was still nicer than most people's houses with tile floor, climate control, big windows with a great view, and all the tools anyone could possibly use. Kai had yet to understand these additions. What would a hover gain from being able to see outside? And since when had anybody in the palace been willing to risk getting oil all over their fancy clothes? Well, besides, Cinder. Still, he supposed that since his wife seemed to spend quite a bit of time here he should be grateful that his ancestors had had _way_ too much money.

He opened the door to Cinder's work area and the natural light made it too easy for him to see a long pair of cargo clad legs sticking out from under one of the hovers.

"Cinder!" He called pointlessly, just to see what her reaction would be when she saw that he had caught her. He was not to be disappointed. She let out a small yelp and made to get up, but since she was still under the hover he just heard the dull clang of her head hitting the metal plating. He started over to her to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt, but when Kai saw Cinder's expression he had to throw his hands over his mouth to stop himself from laughing. She rolled her eyes and it wasn't till he had given in and was bent over with laughter, unable to breath, that she cleared her throat and stuck out her hand, reluctantly asking him for help getting up.

She wasn't that big, on any account, but she was starting to find it hard to move freely, and Kai knew it was driving her crazy.

"Thanks for all your support," she stated in a dry tone. Cinder knew he didn't mean any harm and that if she had been seriously hurt he would have been a lot more concerned, but that didn't stop it from being annoying.

She paused for a minute when she saw what he was wearing.

"Why are you dressed so... Oh stars! Was that tonight?! What time is it?!" Kai could already see her brain starting to short circuit in panic, but he wasn't worried. Before he had met Cinder this situation would have driven him insane, but now it was just funny. He had learned that it was stupid to get so worked up about the little things. Who cared if they were a twenty minutes late to their own ball? Still, he knew that she worried about these things, and worried about them annoying Kai, so he reached out and pulled her into a hug, grinning into her hair as she hesitantly melted against him.

It didn't last nearly as long as Kai had hoped because soon she seemed to remember the predicament and had pulled away rushing to get ready to go.

It was only about fifteen minutes until the next time he saw her, already wearing the simple silver gown that had been designed for her to wear just to this occasion. Kai knew that Cinder wasn't wild about dresses in general, especially not wearing them in public, but he didn't disagree. The fabric hugged her curves, much more pronounced now that she was about six months along, and woke parts of him that were definitely not appropriate for the moment.

"You look beautiful," he whispered and she flashed him a quick and grateful grin.

"How's your head?" The grin fell off her face, only remaining in the small pinch in the corners of her eyes, and the slight upward tilt of her lips. She was attempting to put on her best poker face, but Kai knew her better than that.

"Great, no thanks to you." Her voice was sarcastic and exasperated, the tone she often held when confronting him.

"Are you ready to go?" She was practically pulling him towards their bedroom door. Kai knew that she hated to be late, it brought up bad memories of her first time walking into a crowded ballroom, and he wasn't about to complain. He didn't like drawing unnecessary attention to himself either.

They walked through the long hallways of the palace in the direction of the hover that Kai knew was waiting outside for them. On their way they picked up Iko and Winter, a reluctant and annoyed looking Jacin clinging to the latter's arm. Both girls were looking stunning in gowns meant to represent their position of power, Queen of Luna, and best friend of the empress, thank you very much.

**Please review and let me know what you thought. It takes less than a minute and it really makes my day! By the way, does anybody have any good songs for Kainder? I'm having trouble finding some. Also, if anyone knows of any good Tenrose fanfic PLEASE let me know. Thanks!**

**readingsloth**


	5. AUTHORS NOTE: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ

Hello all! I'm SO sorry that I haven't updated in FOREVER. I've been incredibly busy, and have absolutely NO idea what I want the next few chapters to be. Don't worry, I'm still going to continue posting chapters in this story, but I don't know what yet, so I turn to you. Please, if you have ANY idea, please let me know in a review. I am COMPLETELY out of inspiration and I need your input. It only takes a minute and I would really appreciate it. If I get an idea that I like I will try to post the next chapter by tomorrow or Monday, and the person who's idea it was will get a shootout. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it!

readingsloth

P.S. For all you Doctor Who fans out there go check out Rifts! A real treat for Tenrose shippers, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow!


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